Garment-supporter.



J. W. SCHLOSS. GARMENT SUPPORTER. APELIOATION IILBD AUG.]1,1909.

Patented Sept. 13, 1910.

Witmaowa n4: NORRIS MEYER? co., WAsMnvcmN, o. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH W. SCI-ILOSS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH W. SCHLOSS & 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A FIRM.

GARMENT-SUPPORTER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn IV. SGHLOSS, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the borough of Manhattan and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In an application for patent filed by me July 17, 190$), Serial No. 508,104, I have shown and described certain improvements in garment stiffener-s, especially adapted for use in connection with ladies collars made of lace and other soft fabrics, the said stiffener comprising a fabric cover tubular throughout its length with closed ends and having a longitudinal slit along its middle portion, and a resilient core adapted to be bowed and inserted into said cover through the slit therein. In mamlfacturing the stiffener described in said application a tubular cover blank of indefinite length, is made on a loom or braiding machine, with selvageedged slits produced, at intervals, during the weaving or braiding operation. This cover blank is afterward cut up into proper lengths by severing the same at points between the slits occurring therein. The ends of the separate covers thus formed are then turned over upon themselves, pasted or otherwise secured in position, and a resilient core afterward inserted through the slit to produce the completed stiffener.

My present invention is designed as an improvement upon the stiffener of my former application, the object of the same being to retain all of the advantages of the other stiffener, while at the same time simplifying and cheapening the construction and dispensing with the necessity of folding over and pasting down the ends of the separate covers of the devices.

The invention consists of a garment stiffener comprising a fabric covering having a longitudinal slit formed therein, a resilient core adapted to be bowed and inserted into said cover through said slit, the ends of the cover being closed and of the same thickness as the remaining portion of the cover.

The invention also involves the use of a fabric cover, blank or strip, so made that it is adapted to be cut up into lengths suitable for use as the cover of a garment stiffener,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 11, 1909.

Patented Sept. 13, 1910.

Serial No. 512,397.

the same being woven or braided with tubular portions arranged at intervals, selvageedged slits in said tubular portions and flat closed portions between said tubular portions.

The invention also consists in certain features and details of construction which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawing forming part of the specification Figure 1 is a face View of the cover blank. Figs. 2 and 3 are sections on the lines 22 and 3-3, respectively. Fig. t is a face view of the completed stiffener. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the core therefor. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing how the two parts of the stiffener are bowed or flexed for the purpose of connecting the same one with the other. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing a modified construction, and Fig. 8 is a central longitudinal section of the same.

Instead of employing a slitted cover blank or strip which is tubular throughout, as described in my former application, I form the cover blank or strip 1 with tubular portions 2, which are separated from each other by flat closed portions 3, the tubular portions 2 and the closed flat portions 3 alternating with each other throughout the length of the blank. This may be done on a 100m or braiding machine in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. During the operation of weaving or braiding the strip 1, selvage-edged slits 4 are produced in the tubular portions 2 thereof, the ends of said slits being located at equal distances from the adjacent ends of the closed portions 3. I prefer that the strip 1 shall be flat throughout when it comes from the machine on which it is produced and to accomplish this, as well as to prevent the slit l from occurring at unequal distances from the opposite sides of the final product to be produced, I form selvage edges 5 on opposite sides of the strip 1, preferably by including one or more extra warp threads in the fabric along said edges. The said warp threads, producing the selvage edges referred to, are in line with the side edges of the closed portions 3 and the slits 4 are lo cated at central positions between the same.

The cover blank or strip 1 may be produced and sold as a separate article of manui Y production of the completed stifiener.

As shown in the drawings the fiber cover comprises tubularly shaped portions each having an aperture therein through which the cores may be inserted, and the respective ends of each of these tubularly shaped portions are integrally united to and closed by a mass comprising portions of fabric strands such portions being the continuations of strand portions'which constitute parts of the respective sides of said cover; and these continuations are arranged in interlaced relationship to form the relatively extended nontubular portions 3. As a result of this arrangement the strip may be severed or cut in manner aforesaid without necessitating additional sewing together of the ends of the strands; there being left between any line of severance and an adjacent tubular portion a sufliciently extended interlaced mass of strand ends to normally prevent their becoming unraveled. These ends may further be treated in the manner hereinafter described.

The stiffener is shown in its completed form in Figs. 4 and 7 of the drawing. As illustrated therein, the same consists of a fiat fabric cover 6 havin a slit 4 centrally located therein and a eXible or resilient core '7 of cardboard, celluloid, metal or other suitable material, inserted within the cover 6 through said slit. Theends of the cover 6 are closedas shown at 3 and the thickness of the cover at its end portion is substantially the same as the remaining portion of the cover. To produce the completed stiffener from the cover blank or strip 1, the latter is severed transversely along the center of eachof theclosed portions 3, and the core 7 afterward introduced'into the cover 6, thus formed, by bending or bowing the same and inserting it while in its bowed condition throu h the slit 4;. To prevent the fraying -out of the severed ends of the'cover' 6,'said ends may have applied to them, before, after, or'at the time they are cut,a small quantity of. glue, paste or other adhesive material, and in such case said ends maybe rounded or shaped-in any desired manner.

Or instead of employing adhesive material I to prevent fraying out of the-cut ends of the cover, the weft thread may be pulled out until it draws uponandties up the remaining threads of the closed portion 3, this action serving to prevent the further unraveling or fraying of the ends of the cover. The extended threads produced by this action, may of course, be trimmed off to make a neat appearance.

It will be seen that by the construction described, there is no necessity for bending over and pasting or otherwise securing down the ends of the cover blank to produce the closed'ends in the completed cover, and also that the double thickness of the material at the ends of the cover necessitated by the folding over and pasting is avoided.

In use, the stiffener is applied to the lace collar or other part to be supported by stitching the same thereto in the usualmanner, the stitches of course passing through" the material of the fabric cover. hen it is desired to send the garment having the stiffener applied thereto to the laundry, it is 'merely necessary to bend the core 7 and sli the same out of the cover 6 through the slit 4'therein. The reverse operation to this may be performed when thegarment is returned from the laundry, and it is desired to make the stiffener operative again.

'Having now described my invention, what I claim is:

A garment stiffener comprising a fabric strip having a tubular portlon intermediate the ends thereof, substantially flat-nontubular portions adjoining said tubular portion at either end thereof, said flat portlons affording closures for said tubular portion ends, said tubular portion having a slit disposed longitudinally of said strip and normally in substantial alinement with the median lines of the fiat faces of the non-tubular portions, and a bendable stiffening core inclosed by said tubular portion and removable therefrom through said slit.

In witnesswhereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH W. soHL oss.

lVitnesses:

WALDO M. CI-IAPIN, JAMES DANToNIo. 

